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Taste and See

Please welcome guest-blogger Delia Latham. Delia has visited us here at the Inkwell before, and we're so happy to have her here with us again.

Psalm 34:8–O taste and see
that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

My eight-year-old
grandson wrinkled his nose and eyed the two chicken casseroles I had pulled
from the oven as he watched. For the past ten minutes, he’d been loudly insisting
that he was starving “to death,” really, truly, he was!

Now, however, one
little eyebrow lifted high, and one little turned-up nose—well…turned up. “I
don’t like that.” He twisted his lips in a cute little snarl that was meant to
be tough. “Don’t want none.”

I ignored his
grammar gaffe with effort. There is a
time for everything, I reminded myself.

“How do you know
you don’t like it?” I reasoned. “You haven’t tasted it yet.”

“I don’t!” He
clamped his lips together and curled them in as tightly as he could manage. His
big blue eyes never left the casserole.

I followed his
gaze and took a good look at the dish, which is always a favorite at family
gatherings. The wonderful aroma made my mouth water—good thing I’d made one for
us, or the other one might never make it to the church potluck. Looking at it
now through a child’s eyes, however, I had to admit it might lack a bit of
visual zip.

“Oh, Logan, I
love this stuff!” I injected more enthusiasm than was really merited into the
announcement, then scooped a bite onto a fork and blew on it to cool it down. “It’s
my favorite. Come on, sweetie…taste it for Nanny. Please?”

He gave me a sour
look, but opened his lips just enough for me to slide a small bite between them.
His expression said I was asking far more than was fair of a grandmother.

I saw the very instant when he realized the
casserole tasted better than it looked. He lifted a wide-eyed gaze to mine.
“Hey! It’s kinda good!”

“Well, you tried
it anyway.” I tousled his hair and made as if to put the casserole back in the
oven to stay warm for the rest of the family. “You don’t have to eat it.”

“No, wait! Nanny!
I like it. I really do.”

“Well, OK, if
you’re sure...”

He climbed onto a
stool drawn up to the kitchen bar. “Yeah.” His little shoulders lifted in a
shrug. “I mean, you made it and everything. Might as well eat it, I guess.”

I bit back my
laughter and set a plate in front of him. Watching him chow down, I was
suddenly slammed quite forcefully with a truth that made me ashamed: Logan’s
behavior was similar to that of many adults—myself included—who seem to have trouble
trusting God.

Why is that, I
wonder? He gives us good gifts every day. And our Father doesn’t stop at what
we “need.” He sets out to give us the desires of our hearts. Yet we turn up our
noses and reject His love, because sometimes it isn’t in a pretty package.
Sometimes it looks like something we do not want—no way, no how.

Despite all He
does to bless us, we still haven’t learned to trust Him. In order to give us the
gifts He brings, and to do for us what we need the most, God almost has to pry
our spiritual jaws open and force us to partake of His blessings.

And every time,
we are forced to sheepishly acknowledge—all over again—that the Lord is good.

In my story, Lexi’s Heart, my heroine has major trust
issues. Lexi doesn’t trust anyone—including God—except her mother, who is
sinking further and further under the murky waters of Alzheimer’s. From the
first, little reminders to trust God keep being put in her path. Eventually, of
course, she has to open herself up to God and to love (same thing, right?) in
order to find her happiness.

The same is true of us. Until we
open our mouths wide enough to “taste and see,” we’ll never be able to completely
partake of the bounty God has prepared for us.

To paraphrase my little sweetie,
God’s already “made it and everything.” Seems only right to sample the offering….

And I can almost see Him not
bothering to bite back His laughter at the very moment He sees us wake up to the knowledge that His blessings are good—every
time.

Lexi’s Heart blurb:

Her heart. His faith. Love
reborn.

Forty-three-year-old Lexi
Carlisle’s abusive marriage ended three years ago. Deeply scarred by the
experience, and helplessly watching her beloved mother succumb to Alzheimers,
Lexi is devastated. After selling her fancy home, she rents a cottage in
Heart’s Haven, a special place unlike any other. Slowly learning to live again,
she despairs of ever delivering the message of love that burns within her heart
for her ever-worsening mother. But Mitch Gaynor, a handsome Christian author,
reminds Lexi that with God all things are possible, planting within her
battered and distrustful heart the seed of hope for a miracle. But can she open
her fortressed heart to God? And is Mitch a part of His plans for her future?

A little about Delia~~

Born and raised in Weedpatch,
California, Delia Latham moved to Oklahoma in '08, making her a self-proclaimed
California Okie. She loves to read and write in her country home, and gets a
kick out of watching her husband play Farmer John. She's a Christian wife,
mother, grandmother, sister and friend, but especially loves being a princess
daughter to the King of Kings. She loves Dr. Pepper and hearing from her
readers. Contact her through her website, her blog, or her Facebook author page.

Delia writes inspirational
romance and women's fiction, and is currently contracted through White Rose
Publishing (a division of Pelican Book Group) and Vinspire Publishing.

Gay, thank you so much for stopping by! You know, if I'd just thought to sprinkle a layer of chocolate on top of that casserole, Logan wouldn't have had a problem. lol But chocolate doesn't work for that dish, even if it might have made it more appealing to Logan's little chocolate-lovin' eyes. Sure am glad God knows not to sprinkle "chocolate" on the blessings He sometimes has to force on me! :)

Marian, I love the way you said that: "...pushing away gourmet from God to dine on leftovers from the world." Why didn't I think of that??? :)

DeAnna, Logan is a cutie, but he's a couple of good-sized handsful, as well. :) Thank you for saying howdy.

Spot on, Delia! I'm guilty of the same thing. I love how our children and grandchildren so often teach us lessons about ourselves! My oldest grandson has just learned the word "NO" and uses it frequently. Even when he means "yes." How many times do I say "no" to God's leading, even though my heart is saying "yes"? Great post, thanks for sharing with us!

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